Clean Energy Ministerial 16 – Busan, Republic of Korea / 25-28 August

The annual Clean Energy Ministerial (CEM16/MI-10) brings together the world’s largest and leading countries, companies, and international experts with the goal of accelerating clean energy transitions. Public and private sector innovators share best practices and promote policies and programs to catalyze the transition to a global clean energy economy and address the climate crisis. CEM members emit roughly 75% of global greenhouse gas emissions and are responsible for 90% of global clean energy investments. This year’s event will take place alongside the APEC Energy Ministerial Meeting and the World Climate Industry Expo 2025.

Join CALSTART’s Drive to Zero:

High-Level Ministerial Panel—Accelerating Decarbonization: Transforming Energy and Transport Systems Globally

Monday, August 25th, 14:15-15:15 / Event Location: BEXCO Exhibition Center, #55 APEC-ro, Haeundae-gu, Busan / Side Event Room: Room 217 (2nd Floor BEXCO)

In an era of global crises-energy price shocks, geopolitical instability, and climate-induced disasters, transitioning to zero-emission commercial transport offers a pathway to greater economic and energy security, industrial competitiveness, healthier communities, and local job creation.

CALSTART’s Drive to Zero in partnership with the Electric Vehicle Initiative and the Clean Energy Ministerial, International Energy Agency, International Transport Forum, International Solar Alliance and Rocky Mountain Institute will lead this high-level event with participation from:

• Ms. Stephanie Kodish, Global Director, CALSTART/Drive to Zero
• Dr. Timur Gül, Chief Energy Technology Officer, International Energy Agency
• Dr. Young Tae Kim, Secretary General, International Transport Forum
• Mr. Ashish Khanna, Director General, International Solar Alliance
• Dr. Jon Creyts, CEO, Rocky Mountain Institute
• Mr. Wen Han, Founder, Chairman & CEO, Windrose Technology
• Mr. Junhong Park, Director, The National Institute of Environmental Research, Ministry of Environment, Republic of Korea

This event is open to all CEM participants and will include:

• High-level panel discussion featuring ministers, senior government officials for energy and transport from Canada, India* (TBC), and Korea* (TBC), industry leaders from vehicle manufacturing, and international energy sector experts
• Findings of the Global EV Outlook 2025 and what it means for the road ahead
• Showcasing ZE truck and bus case studies across the globe and a new tool making them accessible to policy makers
• Policies that secure the goal of 100% new zero-emission medium- and heavy-duty vehicle sales by 2040 under the Global Memorandum of Understanding on Zero-Emission Medium- and Heavy-Duty Vehicles (Global MOU)
• Announcement of new entities and efforts supporting the leading edge Global MOU
• Unveiling of a new report on strategies for financing electric heavy-duty vehicle fleets
• Interactive Q&A and audience engagement via breakout discussions

Key Takeaways:

Technology is ready

• ZE-MDHV models are available worldwide (958 different models in 2025) demonstrating that technology is ready for widespread use. Enabling conditions will support the rapid scaling of the technology (enabling conditions include ambitious policy, derisking investment, and infrastructure deployment).

Policy aligned with the Global MOU goals of achieving 100% new ZE MHDV sales by 2040 and 30% new sales by 2030 is essential to establishing market certainty 

• Adoption of country regulations enables clarity in stakeholder roles and timelines for compliance enabling long-term planning, and coordinated action across the entire ecosystem.

Tools to address higher upfront costs of eHDVs are essential

• Residual value guarantees and subsidies, where possible, will be key policy tools to increase eHDV uptake in the coming years, especially given the highly fragmented nature of the HDV market.

Global Green Road Corridors are critical

• They provide a concrete framework for implementation, an anchor for investment and planning. They enable the development of fully zero-emission freight routes (ports, highways, hubs) supported by renewable energy that delivers economic, environmental, and public health benefits.

Quadruple “A” proposition of zero-emission trucks and buses

• Advanced: ZE-MDHVs on the market are state-of-the-art. They reduce pollution and fuel costs. They are operationally superior to diesel trucks and buses offering a smoother and quieter ride as well as advanced safety features, lower fuel and maintenance costs, and enhanced performance and handling.
• Affordable: By 2030-2035, the vast majority of ZE-MHDVs will be cheaper to own and operate than traditional MDHV models.
• Available: Today, there are nearly 960 ZE-MHDV models on the market, a nearly 50% increase from 2021 when 570 models were available.
• Adopted: In 2024, more than 250,000 ZE-MHDVs were sold around the world.